I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to air humidifying apparatus and more specifically to a steam-type humidifier which is extremely flexible in its mounting options, reliable in operation and simple to maintain.
II. Discussion of the Prior Art
It is well known that forced air heating systems tend to create an atmosphere in a building space characterized by low relative humidity which leads to occupant discomfort and possible health problems, damage to wooden articles including furniture contained within the building and the discomfort caused by static electricity discharges. To obviate these problems, it is common practice to employ devices for adding moisture (humidity) to the air being forced through the building space. In this regard, a wide variety of devices are commonly employed. For example, evaporative type systems are installed in the furnace plenum or heating ducts in such a fashion that the heated air is forced to flow through and about sponge-like members which are maintained in a moist condition by means of a suitable water reservoir in which a portion of the evaporator sponge member is in contact. Still other units are known which inject a spray of fine water droplets into the moving air stream by means of a motor driven impeller. In this regard references made to the Hall U.S. Pat. No. 2,191,885 and the Chilcoat U.S. Pat. No. 3,716,043 for devices representative of the above described prior art humidifying techniques and devices.
It is also known in the art to utilize a steam generator in combination with the duct work of a forced air heating system for injecting water vapor into the heated air stream. Typical of this latter approach is the apparatus disclosed in the Rea U.S. Pat. No. 3,386,659 and the Fraser U.S. Pat. No. 3,486,697.
The evaporator type humidifier units suffer from a number of disadvantages including the limited amount of moisture which can be introduced into the air stream by a unit of practical size and the propensity of the evaporator plates or sponges to become incrusted with mineral deposits requiring frequent and somewhat messy cleaning operations and deliming with chemicals.
The prior art steam generator type humidifiers known to me also have a number of drawbacks including the lack of flexibility in the location where the unit may be mounted relative to the heating system, lack of control over the amount of moisture to be introduced and difficulty in cleaning and maintaining the unit in a peak operating mode.